Colder Weather
by CreationsGoneAwry
Summary: Mia has returned from a year-long journey to find a new source of Hermes Water, for the source in Mercury Lighthouse is depleting due to Imil's growing population. She knows there's some in Lemuria, and when she meets up with Felix and Piers, she is hopeful. But Felix won't sail her there without a favor - more like a demand - in return.
1. Chapter 1

**BEFORE YOU READ: **This story contains spoilers for the first two Golden Sun games, since it is set in that timeline, precisely seven years after the Golden Sun event. If you do not wish to be spoiled, don't read this please! Thanks! :)

* * *

**Colder Weather**

**Chapter One**

"This has gone on long enough," he mused once more as he turned the tiller of his ship to the left. The white, icy mountains in the distance began to emerge and he knew he was getting closer.

"Did you say something, Felix?" a particular Mercury Adept asked from behind him, a curious expression widening. He stood with his back to the side of the boat, arms crossed. He figured he would be here a while if he was expecting an answer from the brunet.

Felix grunted. "I've told you several times already, Piers." He gripped the tiller a little more tightly, but then he heaved a sigh, remembering that Lemurians were quite forgetful, especially when they get up there in age. So instead of getting angry, he loosened his grip on the wheel and closed his eyes. "It's just something I've been meaning to do for a while now."

Piers nodded, not really expecting an answer so quickly. "All right, then." The Lemurian sighed as well, now, uncrossing his arms. "Would you like some company? We won't come to the shore before dusk settles in, really."

The brunet huffed a little. He'd much rather prefer to be alone, but maybe there were some things that the two grown men could talk about in the meantime - other than what they'd already talked about for the past ten years. After all, it could very well be said that the two needed each other, that they were best friends.

Ever since Piers had been exiled from Lemuria, he'd had to take refuge elsewhere and make do with what he already had, which was little more than the clothes on his back. He hadn't really gained much on the adventures throughout the years of adventuring with Felix and the group, either.

However, Felix practically had everything handed to him on a silver platter when he was taken in by Saturos and Menardi, the two Proxian Mars Adepts, all those years ago. Well, once he knew how to get what he wanted, anyway.

So he decided to pass that knowledge on to Piers. When Piers asked Felix if he could travel the world with him, Felix recognized the innocence in the Lemurian. It just wouldn't do to have somebody who couldn't take care of himself on his voyage, especially when he was dirt-poor himself, having given most of his money and his best wishes to a certain relative, one with red hair.

Felix taught him how to steal.

It wasn't just the borrowing kind of stealing - it was the actual "you're never getting this back" kind of stealing. At first the Lemurian thought it to be a horrible and terrible thing, and to think that his best friend would stoop that low - stoop low enough to steal from innocent people - was sickening. But eventually he saw Felix's side to the story. He never stole from poor citizens not unlike himself. He only stole from middle-class and the wealthy. It was never anything they couldn't live without, anyway.

And besides, people do what they have to in order to survive. So each time they visited a wealthy city, such as Tolbi, at night the two would sneak into a house, sleep bombs in hand, and just take what was necessary: usually just an outfit or two stuffed with a couple hundred coins.

Even if it was just harmless taking, Felix still felt immensely responsible for the corruption of his blue-haired friend. Mainly because, well, he actually _was_.

"Felix?"

The voice startled him out of this thoughts. He really had to stop getting lost in himself.

"Sorry," he offered meekly. Somehow he thought this apology would make up for all the ridiculous things Piers was forced to do.

The Lemurian just smiled. "Would you like some company?" he reiterated.

Felix didn't take nearly as long this time to reply. "Yeah, I think I would."

And with that, Piers walked up to where his friend was and sat down, hands on his knees, watching Felix steer. He peeked his head up just above the side of the ship and, as the snowy mountains in the distance grew ever-so-slightly closer to them, retreated it to rest his eyes for just a minute or two. Maybe he'd get to hear some more Felix grumble today.

* * *

Her eyes never left the man but she did move her eyes just a tad so that she could see whether or not she was healing him right. Of course she was, though, otherwise she wouldn't be accepted as the city's healer for as many years as she had been. It was already unusual enough to have a Mercury Adept on the continent of Angara, let alone in Imil, so the city made sure it held onto the gift from the gods that it had been given.

After she left to journey with her friends and to put a stop to Alex, the snowy village grew in size slightly, mainly due to the Mercury Lighthouse and the Hermes Water that flowed there. There was virtually no need for a healer like Mia.

But that changed when the elderly's children started having children of their own, thus giving a chance for Imil to prosper and grow even more. Friends and relatives began moving up there because the weather started to change to beautiful spring instead of harsh winter all the time. Soon, Imil was the size of the early Tolbi.

Naturally, it wouldn't have been so bad if the seasonal flu didn't still come around. Sure, they had the Lighthouse's water, but with so many people depending on it, it began to deplete. Very slowly, of course, at first, but now it was the present day, during the middle of winter when the flu was most abundant and contagious, and Mia was needed.

"Thank you, Angel," came the old man's gratitude. He lay in bed, staring up at her, with one hand over his stomach, the other holding his wife's at his bedside.

Mia smiled sweetly down at him. "It's the least I can do." Her expression went a bit somber as she remembered what they went through. "I shouldn't have left when I did," she admitted, feeling guilty for abandoning her city for a whole year.

"Please, Mia, do not blame yourself," the wife replied. Her gray hair fell below her shoulders, and despite how beautiful she looked even in her old age, the healer could tell that she didn't have much time left before she, too, fell ill.

She sighed as she stood up from near the man's bed and headed for the door. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you," she said, ready to leave and enter other houses whose inhabitants were ill as well. The old couple nodded their heads as she closed the door behind her.

She pushed her back against the door. It had been just ten years since that last adventure, but it felt like so many more, almost a whole lifetime. She had to admit, though, it was amazing how young she still looked in her twenty-seven-year-old body. She actually still had that of a seventeen-year-old.

Mia shook her head. Maybe twenty. After all, she was twenty when she absorbed the power from the Golden Sun.

And that was another thing. She couldn't help but wonder what became of all of her friends. Isaac and Jenna and Sheba and Ivan and Garet...Piers, Felix. She'd met so many great people on her journey, even if they didn't all get along at first. She remembered quite a few fights between herself and Ivan, and a year or two later between Felix and Garet, or even more often Felix and Isaac. Venus was the dominant element after all, though, no matter what they say. She had seen enough fights between those two to last a lifetime - certainly enough to know that Venus held dominance in its power.

But she pushed forward to the next house, no doubt knowing what was in store already. And once she stepped in the door, her suspicions were confirmed. Just another old couple, the man on the bed with his wife's hand in his. She healed him as well and sent her best wishes and continued on her way to heal the next fifty or so people. Within the day she had already healed one hundred or more - it felt like more, anyway - and it was already nightfall. Soon she would have to get Wes, the local Mars Adept, to light the lanterns on the city's pathways just so she could see where she was heading. After all, she hadn't been here in a while.

Still, she felt a compelling debt towards the townsfolk for being gone for so long. It actually wasn't her fault, though, that she was away. Once she had learned that the Hermes Water was being depleted faster than it could be replenished, she set out in search of more. Of course, she knew she wouldn't find Hermes Water just anywhere. She started looking in caves where fresh water ran, around Imil itself but not quite around the Lighthouse, and even tested the water around the city to see if it was any different than normal water, all to no avail.

She knew one place where she would definitely find Hermes Water, but she had no way of getting there.

Lemuria.

That place just _had _to have that special water. It was probably mixed with all other chemicals to make the famous Lemurian draught, which granted immortality to an individual for a time. Hermes Water had exquisite healing properties - much better than any healer could ever hope for - so what better thing to use for healing wrinkles and aches caused by old age than the very liquid itself?

She had no way of getting there, though, she reminded herself again. She would just be stuck here for another ten years, healing all the citizens with no breaks until her Psynergy reserves were exhausted, as was she. It was definitely a tiring job.

But that didn't stop her from doing it. Until the Hermes Water was replenished, she would have to deal with the pain. It wasn't like everyday the people got sick, anyway. She was almost positive she could handle it. In fact, healing all of her friends in battle at once was far worse than this, but that never tired her out, and healing Adepts is even more challenging than healing regular people.

As she started to make her way to the next house to do its bidding, she heard a crash come from over by the dock, along with the sound of two men grunting. She gasped and turned around, running straight towards the dock. She knew she had more people to heal, but if what she just heard was a potential threat, there wouldn't be any people left _to _heal.

Once she was at the dock, she checked around her for the guards. One was already on the wooden platform investigating the disaster. It was just a crashed ship that damaged the dock a bit, but it didn't look like anything the local carpenters couldn't repair.

Mia readied her Psynergy just in case she was needed to attack the assailants, but the two men who stepped out of the boat surprised her.

There was a man with blue hair not entirely unlike her own with a muscular build and golden eyes. The man next to him was almost equal in stature and size, but he had brown hair that flowed down his back in a ponytail. The brunet wore a green cape wrapped around his neck and she had to admit they looked awfully familiar.

They both stepped towards her, the brunet first, and the guard stood in front of Mia as if protecting her.

"Not another step, you two!" he threatened, unsheathing his sword and holding it behind his head.

"Wait!" Mia cried, stepping in front of the guard. "I...I feel like I know you from somewhere," she confessed, her eyes searching the brunet's brown eyes for answers. She found none, but then the blue-haired man behind him spoke.

"Lady Mia?" His voice was sort of soothing, she thought. She knew she had heard it before...

And then it clicked.

All those times on the ship when they would talk about what it was like being the only Mercury Adept where they both resided (and in their respective parties), about how it felt to manipulate the water, about how good it felt knowing you had just helped somebody regain his strength by healing him, about how nerve-wracking it felt knowing that you are the one responsible for so many people and their lives in an instant.

And then all those times they stayed awake keeping guard (it only made sense because primarily he was a warrior and she was a healer, and if one got hurt the other could heal), chatting about nothing but the nonsense that made their lives theirs. Another good pastime was asking questions about what they would do in the future after all their questing was over.

They'd only known each other for a very short while during their journey to the last Lighthouse together with the other six Adepts, but it was safe to say that he had been her best friend. Especially with all his formalities, like calling her Lady Mia, he was the sweetest person she'd ever known.

"Piers." The name no more than slipped off of her tongue as a mere whisper, but hearing it come out of her mouth eased a smile onto his face and he nodded.

"Yes. And can you guess who this is?" He gestured toward the brown-haired man who still kept his distance from Mia. After seeing that the city's healer was safe and sound, the guard made way back to his post, leaving the old friends alone.

She thought long and hard about this man. Normally she would never forget a face, but having been away from her hometown for an entire year and coming back to find it nearly twice the size of when she left it - and it wasn't just the tiny village it had been in her teenage years, either - caused her to see on a daily basis so many more people.

But if this was Piers in front of her, who was he? Brown hair with matching eyes, and _that cape _- didn't Felix have one just like it? But Felix disappeared even before she did. It didn't make sense - everybody assumed he was dead!

She took a shot in the dark, though. "Felix?"

The brunet chuckled, stepping up to her at last. "It's nice to see you again, Mia," he said, outstretching his arm to her, expecting her to shake his hand. She reached hers out as well but before hers could touch his, another hand entered the air around them and took Mia's hand, bringing it up to Piers's mouth and kissing it.

"It has been far too long, Lady Mia," he supplied, looking up at her face after he was done with her hand.

She blushed a little and smiled sweetly. "Yes it has. Seven years, I believe."

Felix rolled his eyes at the two. "Look, I actually have something I would like to do here, so if you two are quite finished..." He glanced between the pair like they were a young couple who had just been caught by their parents.

After a few seconds, Mia cleared her throat and Piers pulled his hand away and let go of hers.

"Of course. Sorry, Felix." He straightened his posture. Mia smiled a bit awkwardly.

Then she remembered her confusion concerning him. "Felix, where have you been?" It just seemed too bizarre, his showing up on the continent without warning or anything. And with Piers, too. This was weird.

"That's...confidential," he replied, averting his eyes. He supposed it wasn't like nobody would notice his ten-year absence, though. At least the other Adepts, excluding Piers, made an attempt to meet up every so often.

And that actually brought up another question about the other man in front of her. "And why did _you _leave for so long, as well?" She pointed an accusing finger at the Lemurian.

Piers coughed into his hand. "Ah... Just listen to Felix."

Felix shook his head. "All right. You asked me a question, now I get to ask you one."

Mia nodded, even though it was obviously unfair because he didn't give a real answer.

"You can heal pain, right?"

"Wh-what? Of course I can, as long as it's physical - "

"That's good enough for me," he interrupted, grabbing her wrist and dragging her away. "Come on. I need you to get packed so we can set sail already."

Set sail? Where would they set sail?

"Felix has some...unfinished business which he would like to take care of as soon as possible," Piers provided, trailing just behind her and making sure that Felix's grip wasn't _too _tight.

"Please wait," said Mia. She stopped in her tracks, wincing slightly when Felix kept yanking on her wrist to keep her going. He let it go then, sighing, and waited for her to speak. "I need to heal the rest of these people. The seasonal flu has made its way here again." She glanced between the two men, her old friends, and begged for sympathy. As long as her duty here was done, she could go on her own way and help more people, namely her friends here. It was extremely rare for the flu to come back after it was cured, anyway - but it _had _happened before.

"I will take care of the rest of the healing, Lady Mia," the Lemurian offered. "Just point me in the correct direction."

Mia nodded and thanked him, sending him towards the rest of the houses whose inhabitants still needed curing and bed rest. Then another thought hit her.

"Would we be going to Lemuria?" she pondered to Felix.

He looked down at her with his arms crossed. "Why?"

She looked down at the ground, hiding from his evil stare. "Hermes Water...that is supposed to be there."

He huffed. "All right. We'll make a flying trip there."

She smiled and looked back up at him. "Thank you, Felix."

He brushed it off. "Just go get packed."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this is my new fic. Yeah I deleted the thing on my profile that told you guys that NDMR was my first priority now. To be honest, the first games are the most fun to write for. I mean I grew up with them so I pretty much knew them my whole childhood - a good majority of it, anyway - and I can just torture them in any way I want to and they don't get mad at me for it. Well okay they throw rocks at me when I sleep and invade my dreams but that's nothing.

Anyway, it's quarter to 2 AM right now and I'm used to sleeping at like midnight so I'm a little off my game. The ending of this chapter is pretty crappy and I'm pretty sure I went OOC at least a touch during this. But get used to it, because I love having dark Felix and naive/stupid/adorable Mia and charming/pimp Piers. I'm thinking about changing his name to Picard because every time I type Piers I want to type Picard anyway. Ugh.

But yeah. Eventual Mia/Felix. Sorry, spoilers lol. So yeah, lemme know what you guys think, and I promise I'll actually take interest in this story since it's just supposed to be a crappy romance fic anyway. Probably won't be longer than ~15 chapters if I can help it. First chapter is always the shortest, sorry. I'll work on length later, try to get chapters at least 4-7k words each.

**[Minor edits as of 7/15. Chapter 2 is coming within an hour or so.]**

Enjoy!

_~CGA_


	2. Chapter 2

**Colder Weather**

**Chapter Two**

"Why do you wish to go to Lemuria?" a curious Piers pondered to Mia, a small sense of worry beginning to appear on his face. He'd rather leave his hometown behind - after all, he was exiled from it.

Mia just smiled obliviously, the cool morning breeze flowing through her hair as she leaned over the edge of the ship. It had been a long time since she had been on a ship. Now that she thought about it, it was probably his ship.

"Is this your ship, Piers?" she asked, completely ignoring his question. She was caught in the excitement of the moment. She wasn't that tired at all since she didn't really pack much of anything - just a few outfits, some of her coins for expenses, and a number of bottles to carry the water - but since it was nightfall, anyway, she suggested they stay at the inn until morning, when they would set out.

His lips curved upwards a little and he nodded, although the worry on his face could still be discerned. "Yes." He crossed his arms, a mirrored move he had learned from Felix over the years. "However, I am afraid it does not have its wings anymore." He glanced sadly over the edge of the ship, peeking at where the Psynergy wings should have been. As he predicted, they weren't there.

She nodded in acknowledgement. That just meant that they'd have to take the long way to get to some places. No big deal.

"Now," Piers began again, "what do you want from Lemuria?" He watched her face, some of the excitement fading away only to be replaced by her signature regular smile.

She stepped away from the side and turned towards him. "Is it true that there is Hermes Water there?" Her eyes gave away her hopeful expression.

He thought for a moment. "Are you speaking of the draught?"

Mia nodded eagerly. She knew she was right! "Yes! There are exquisite healing qualities of that very water, and I simply _must _bring some back to Imil - "

"So we're traveling halfway across the planet for _water_?" Felix interrupted, bringing his hands away from the tiller so he could rub at his temples. "There's water everywhere we look right now! Can't you just take that?"

Her smile faltered a bit. "Felix, this is not ordinary water. It is water that has been blessed by Mercury itself. It can cure any injury short of death," she explained. She remembered coming to this conclusion after the Golden Sun event had just passed, when she tried the water just seconds too late.

The old man lived alone with no family or friends nearby in the city. So, naturally, Mia had no clue he was even ill, and when she made her daily rounds in the city, she felt terrible that she could have missed his house. She remembered seeing him lying on his bed in a limp state, his eyes just slightly open. She yanked out the bottle of Hermes Water she always carried around with her and tried to get him to drink it, even though she knew it was already too late. Psynergy powers didn't work with death, either - even Venus's most powerful Revive only worked on near-death situations.

Even though she had come close to losing citizens like that, having one die in her arms was definitely the worst thing she could have gone through.

Felix put his palm to his face and let it slide down to his chin before retracting it. He sighed. "Fine, but we do this my way."

Mia smiled a bit. "So you will truly take me to Lemuria?"

Felix turned his head around and exchanged a glance with Piers, who nodded in return.

"I believe I know the Sea the best," the Lemurian spoke up, referring to the Sea of Time.

"But," Felix interjected, "we'll make a pit stop or two first."

At this Mia frowned. "Is this about your sick friend?" He grimaced but she continued. "I'm sorry, Felix, but I would much rather save a city than one person." She sighed. "I will do what I can for your friend, but I wish to save Imil's people first."

"You just healed all the ill citizens, though," Felix retorted. And Piers helped, too, so it wasn't like it was a poorly done job, either.

"It is flu season," she explained. "Sickness may rise again in as little as a few weeks." True, it rarely ever came back, but when it does, it's always more deadly than the first time around.

"Look, do you want to go to Lemuria or not?" he asked, raising his voice. His head had turned back around so he could stare out at the sea and see where he was leading them. Piers simply watched and listened to the two, unsure if he should have interrupted. Felix didn't wait for her to answer - she did nod sadly but he couldn't see her - and instead just continued. "Then we're visiting my...friend first."

Both Mercury Adepts could tell that he hesitated a little with that last sentence, but they ignored it. Mia resorted to looking sadly out at the sea, contemplating what she could do or say to change his mind. She didn't want to come back to a lonely and empty Imil. Of course, her healing apprentices, Justin and Megan, were there, but that didn't calm her at all.

Piers went over to where she was. "Lady Mia, I promise you everything will be fine." He grabbed her hand with his and rubbed small circles, smiling down at her.

She faintly smiled back. Piers really was a great friend. She just couldn't help but notice, though, that he had the slightest bit of worry on his face.

* * *

Mia sat alone on the bed in the small room below the deck, absentmindedly running her hands over the fabric of the blanket. She really didn't know why she was so worried, actually. In the seven years since the Golden Sun event had been triggered, Justin and Megan had become her full-time students in the sort of medical school she had opened in the city. There were others, of course, but only Justin and Megan were devoted enough to Imil to stay within the city limits. Her other junior apprentices had left without more than a goodbye.

But then again, those two were special, being two more survivors of the Mercury Clan. Mia and Alex were the other two. But naturally they would be good healers, anyway. Even if sickness fell upon Imil once more and everybody got sick, the two younger kids - though Justin was eighteen and Megan seventeen now - would surely be able to save at least half the citizens.

She grimaced. Was that really such good news now? Saving _half _the population of a city?

Thinking about it wouldn't help much right now, anyway. She needed to think about how she was going to help Felix and his friend. And maybe try to figure out why he was acting so weird. She remembered him acting cold and distant during the short time they were together to light the remaining Lighthouse, Mars, but he warmed up rather quickly. But who could be so hurt that even Felix would be worried?

Although, he _had _been gone for the seven years after the Golden Sun rose. And it wasn't like he had any contact with anybody except Piers for all she knew, so maybe the two men grew lonely and looked for more people to befriend...but that wasn't like Felix at all, or Piers. Even the latter was more of a loner. Well, at least, the part of him that she knew was a loner, anyway.

But maybe she was blowing this all out of proportion. After all, she had been gone for seven years as well. She had of course written to Isaac and Jenna, Sheba and Ivan, and Garet, but she hadn't seen any of them since the event. And what of Kraden, the old scholar? She remembered growing just a little bit tired of him even during the short journey - short compared to the year and a half they spent traveling around Angara, anyway. She hoped he was doing well. Old folks always grew the most weary first, but Kraden was present during the rise of the Sun as well, so he should have been in good health.

She sighed. She hadn't thought this hard in a long while.

A knock on the bedroom door sent her out of her frenzy and she stood up, walking over to the door. She unlocked and opened it to find Piers standing outside.

"Lady Mia?" he asked sweetly. "Is everything all right?" She could tell he was sincerely worried, too.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes. I was just thinking about some things."

"Do you wish to talk about some of them?"

The best thing about talking to Piers, she thought, was that he never pushed her to talk about anything. He always put her opinion and wishes first. She guessed that was just because he was decades, maybe even centuries, older than she was and he had just grown up with emphasis on manners and chivalry. Either way, she didn't mind.

"If you would like to hear them," she replied, stepping back from the door to let him into the room. She locked it behind them and led them over to the bed, seating herself down as he did the same.

"Now, what is troubling our angel today?" he joked, but she could tell that to some extent he meant it. There he went again, flattering her as always.

She laughed half-heartedly before responding. "Where does Felix want to travel?"

"I'm...not too certain, to be quite honest." He bit his lip. "I imagine we will be traveling to and from several different places on this journey."

"But what about Lemuria?" she cried.

"Don't worry," he soothed, staring into her eyes. "We will arrive there soon enough, I promise you. I won't let Imil fall."

"Thank you, Piers," she said, eyes beaming with happiness as she knew he meant it. "But do you know what Felix is intending to do, anyway? He asked me if I could heal pain, and I said as long as it is physical...but I have no idea what he means by that. Is somebody hurt?"

He took a little longer to respond this time. "...You could say that."

"Piers, won't you tell me?"

He shook his head but still kept a smile on his face. "It's not my place to tell you. Felix will speak when he is ready." He stood up from the bed. "I made dinner, if you are hungry. I'm sure you remember, but the kitchen is just to the left of this room and down that very narrow hallway."

She nodded. "Thank you, Piers," she reiterated. She got up as well and moved to unlock the door. Piers let her out first and then she led the way into the kitchen, where they would be eating fried aqua jellies and salted fish.

"Sorry," he uttered nervously as she scrunched up her nose at the smell of it all. "I found them below decks a few days ago, and we need to replenish our food stocks soon anyway, so I figured we might as well try it."

"It's fine." She smiled. At least it was better than the Imil Surprise they served every Wednesday at the inn. The only surprise was that sometimes you would find leftovers from dinner in it...

Piers was done eating first, so he told Mia he would go above and tell Felix to eat and he would take the wheel.

"Too bad the Black Orb can't steer for us," he said, chuckling a little as he left her alone. A few minutes later he was replaced by the dark-haired Venus Adept.

She tried to make some small talk in the silent dining room. "Felix, where are you planning on going?"

"Just a few places," he said after swallowing his food. Mia continued pushing hers around on her plate, occasionally picking up some with her fork and bringing it up to her mouth so she could chew it.

"Who is hurt?" she inquired. "Is it somebody we all know?"

"It's possible."

She waited a while before asking another question. "Is it Jenna?"

His fork clanked down on the plate and he stood up, his chair squeaking against the hardwood floor as he did so. "I'm done eating," he said, though there was blatantly half his food left on his plate.

"Sorry," she muttered, looking down at her own plate while he passed her on his way back up the stairs.

She continued to eat in silence, mentally smacking herself. It could've been the start of a friendship.

But it did make sense, her thinking that Jenna was hurt. After all, Isaac always told her the stories of their childhood - him, Jenna, Garet, and the occasional Felix - and how Jenna's elder brother was very protective of her that even her father was surprised. One time, Garet pushed her down the slide at a playground, and when they returned home to Vale, Garet got an earful and a black eye for a week from Felix.

And then there was the three-year absence of her brother and parents altogether. Nobody would blame her for feeling remorse after losing all of them. She'd had to live with her grandparents for three long, lonely years, and rely on Isaac and Garet to keep her company because her grandmother was always falling ill and her grandfather was always out trying to find the cure. Isaac told her many times about how he and Jenna trained together to learn healing Psynergy - and occasionally Garet tagged along so he could push himself to learn the Venus Psynergy Move. After Jenna was a junior healer, all the stuff with Mt. Aleph happened and she never even saw her grandparents again after she was kidnapped.

Only after the Golden Sun rose had she returned to Vale safe and sound - relatively, of course, because the village had been destroyed due to the event - with all of her relatives. However, her happiness was short-lived, because not much after everything calmed and quieted down, Felix left for an untitled journey.

That's all she knew, but she guessed that's all she had to know to assume that was why she was hurt. And Felix wouldn't have reacted that way if she wasn't right...right? She knew she would be hurt if somebody she loved just left after not even a year of being reunited. She did have that time with him when they were traveling together to light the Lighthouses, but that didn't mean much when they were on an actual mission instead of being family and relaxing together.

Her thoughts were broken when she thought she could hear arguing from above her.

* * *

"Felix, I don't understand why you're so upset over this," Piers said, still relaxed as he steered the tiller of the ship with ease.

The brunet sighed. "You didn't have to go and tell her that."

"I barely told her anything, actually."

"That doesn't make it any better, though." He put his hand to his forehead and turned away from the Lemurian. "Now she knows."

"Wh-what...well, that is no fault of mine," Piers explained. Still, he did feel a little guilty that he talked to Mia about it anyway. It really wasn't his story to tell, and although he didn't say too much at all, maybe his words spoke volumes in her mind and gave her ideas as to what it could have been.

But Felix was still overreacting. Mia was bound to find out soon, anyway. She was a bright girl, and even if she was left alone for a time, she would have figured it out. And it looked like she did.

"Well, whatever." Felix gave up. "There's nothing either of us can do now." He walked up to the captain's space. "I'll take over again," he offered, wanting to breathe in fresh air once more anyway.

"What's the big deal about it?" asked Piers. He accidentally took too sharp of a turn and both men stumbled a bit before regaining their balance. "She has to know what she's healing, otherwise she won't be able to do it. I know because I am a healer as well."

The Venus Adept grimaced. "Fine, whatever. Let's just forget about it for the meantime."

"Where should we begin looking for Je - ?"

"I said forget about it!" Felix shouted. Piers could hear his retreating footsteps and he knew the petty argument was over. There was no reasoning or asking with Felix once he got aggravated.

Then the footsteps stopped.

"What do you want?" Felix's voice muttered.

Piers heard lighter footsteps coming up from the stairs, which he assumed were Mia's.

"I...I heard arguing," she stuttered. "I just wanted to make sure everything was all right." She looked around, avoiding Felix's eyes. "I also wanted to apologize for speaking out of line. It is none of my business."

Felix sighed. "No, it's fine. Just...I just wanna be alone for a while, if that's all right." And with that, he pushed past her and descended the stairs. A slam of a door could be heard from the deck.

Mia mimicked him and sighed as well. "I'm sorry, Piers," she said, feeling guilty.

"You did nothing wrong, Lady Mia," he assured her, looking back at her though she couldn't see him.

She smiled, though it didn't really make her feel too much better. It really was none of her business, but it did help now that she knew what she was going to do.

And then she frowned. "Piers...if Jenna's pain isn't physical, I can't heal her," she explained, feeling even more guilty now.

"Please stop worrying, Lady Mia." He brought his hands away from the tiller and stepped back to stand next to her. He took her hands in his once more. "Felix will get over this soon, and then he will start thinking rationally. I promise."

Mia nodded. "Thank you, Piers," she said for the third time today. And, now that she thought about it, Piers had made several promises as well.

She just hoped that he truly meant them.

* * *

A/N: Okay. I'm going to try to do one update a week. So, today's Sunday, and if I get one out on Friday or something, then the next update will be by the Friday after that. But for now, by next Sunday a new chapter will be out. It's easier to write a story when you don't have a real plot to stick to. ;)

Also, prick Felix is fun to write. And so is charming pimp Piers, as always. I'm keeping his name, btw. It's just easier. And Mia's stupid. Yay! Also, I hope the backstory thing makes sense. I haven't done it in a while.

So, I REALLY want to say a HUGE THANK YOU TO MY REVIEWERS already! 4 for one chapter? yesplz. But seriously, thanks for all the love, guys! :) It makes me happy~

Stay tuned ^-^

_~CGA_


	3. Chapter 3

**Colder Weather**

**Chapter Three**

She sat up in the slightly uncomfortable bed, feeling more than relieved that it was morning already. Her first night in the ship had proven to be a little bit less enjoyable than she imagined. She guessed it was probably just because she was used to her own bed in her own city. She faintly remembered that when they all first met up, the sleeping arrangements were even more awkward because of the number of people and it was even more uncomfortable than how she felt right now.

Mia rubbed the sleep from her eyes and brought her legs over the edge of the bed, grabbing her robe from the end table a few inches over and donning it. She yawned and made her way over to the door, opening it and preparing the face the day, fluffing her hair a bit so it didn't look too mangled.

She met up with Piers in the narrow hallway. He allowed her to go first up the stairs by motioning with his hand, and she chuckled.

"Did you just wake up as well?" she asked, noting how groggy her morning voice sounded.

He shook his head. "No. Felix and I take turns steering the ship throughout the night," he explained. "Would you like some breakfast, Lady Mia?"

She nodded. "If you wouldn't mind."

Piers turned around and began walking away. "I will call you when it's ready, then."

She thanked him and started up the stairs, wanting to see the waves ripple in the early morning. When she reached the top, she just stared out at the sea for a second or two, breathing in the cold morning air she loved so much, feeling the chilly, crisp breeze on her skin. She was only barely aware of the presence she felt behind her until a voice broke her out of her trance.

"Lady Mia?"

She gasped and turned around, laughing when she saw it was only Piers. She smiled. "Yes?"

"Breakfast is done."

* * *

She ate alone for a while, sitting by herself in the silence of the tiny kitchen. She took the time to mull some things over, like why Felix would be so cold all of a sudden, and why Piers had stayed with him for so long... It just didn't quite make sense to her. Was there something they were doing for the past seven years that she couldn't know about?

Surely she was the most understanding person she knew. As a healer, she had to be understanding and forgiving, a good listener. It wasn't just physical wounds she was good with. She was a good advice-giver.

Well, she thought so, anyway. Of course, when she was actually needed in a real crisis, sometimes she would freeze up and panic at the responsibilities put onto her.

That was what she feared when she figured out that Felix was talking about Jenna who was hurt. Her wounds definitely weren't physical, and Mia was worried that she'd have trouble talking to the Mars Adept. After all, they'd had some...differing opinions throughout their short journey.

She remembered that Jenna would always talk down to her. She'd treat her like she wasn't really part of the group, she was just a tool used for healing. She couldn't fight in combat at all.

It wasn't like Mia never fought back, either. She stood up for herself quite a few times, most of the time saying some very unpleasant things that she never really meant. She remembered calling Jenna worthless at one point because all she did was cause Isaac to worry all throughout their adventure, and now she was one of the weakest combatants in battle and had worse-than-average healing skills.

Sheba, being the only other girl, often felt compelled to break the fighting apart, but was too small in stature to be of much help at all. Isaac and Felix had their occasional fights as well, and as such, neither one had felt like breaking up what wasn't theirs. Ivan, just like Sheba, was small in stature and was a little too socially awkward still, so that left Piers to break the two apart when neither female had apologized yet.

Like the time they traveled to Mars Lighthouse as one big group and Mia grew tired and weary. Her Psynergy had nearly been depleted already and they were only halfway to the top.

Jenna criticized her for being such a drag on everybody else and boasted about how revitalized she felt. Of course, Mars and Mercury were opposing elements, so Mia felt weakened while Jenna felt rejuvenated. Mia remembered that the tables had been turned all the way back at Mercury Lighthouse - not quite with Jenna, but with Saturos, another Mars Adept - when she felt very alive on top of the aerie because she was with her natural element.

The brunette criticized her until Mia began to cry, and the others looked away, knowing how ugly things could get between the two. Mia still felt horrible even though she knew she could do nothing about it and that it wasn't her fault, but it still hurt to know that Jenna thought of her in this manner. A drag. Just somebody who got in the way.

But then, Piers spoke up for her. He admitted that he had been feeling lightheaded and woozy for a while as well, and that perhaps they should take a short break. The thick-headed Garet agreed hastily - even though he was with his own element as well, all the food he had eaten earlier had made him drowsy.

Jenna reluctantly agreed, knowing Piers wouldn't lie about something like that. She didn't apologize to Mia, however, only Piers.

Mia had to admit that Jenna wasn't all bad throughout the adventure, though. Sometimes she would praise Mia for healing somebody without their asking, and at times the blue-haired girl would find clues to puzzles in the dungeons and caves they faced, to which Jenna would smile and thank her. Sometimes Jenna was nice in a mean way.

There was one time when Mia was keeping Piers company at the tiller of the ship, explaining to him what life in Imil was like, how it felt to be relied on all the time. She said it was nice to still feel needed, but was relieved that she didn't have to look over everybody herself. Piers comforted her as much as he could until a certain angry voice disrupted the peace.

"Are you kidding? Of _course _we need you!"

Both Mercury Adepts turned around to face Jenna, her face hot with tears. She closed her eyes. "Mia, you're the most valuable asset to the group. You've selflessly helped everybody here, even when you know it would have been better to help yourself first." Now she opened her eyes and stared directly at Mia. "If it weren't for you, I don't think I would be here right now."

She ran up to Mia and hugged her tightly, sobbing into her blue robe. Mia awkwardly rubbed her back, taken aback by her sudden outburst. It was true, though, she guessed... If she hadn't healed Jenna's wounds in the battle against Dullahan, she wouldn't have had the strength left to fight. And although Mia's own wounds were pretty nasty themselves, she wasn't as valuable a fighter as the brunette was. So she used up what was left of her Psynergy reserves and her own strength to heal Jenna, making sure she could at least last another five rounds of Djinn Storm.

So, although they had their differences in the past, they learned how to get along properly in the end, and that was all that mattered, right?

Well, no. All that mattered right now was that she could talk to Jenna enough to get her to heal herself from the pain Felix had caused her, mixed in with the emptiness she felt when she was all alone for those three long years.

She just hoped she'd be able to do that. She hated making promises she couldn't keep.

"Lady Mia?"

She looked up from her plate, locking eyes with Piers.

"Oh. Hello, Piers," she greeted.

His face remained neutral. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Why do you ask?" Had she really been zoning out for that long?

He shook his head and smiled. "You just seemed distant for some reason."

He sat down across the table from her and crossed his arms. So if he was down here, that meant that Felix had to be steering for a little while.

"Piers?" she called.

"Yes, Lady Mia?"

She smiled as he called her that. "How long do you and Felix usually steer for?"

He thought for a moment. "Maybe a few hours at a time." He mimicked her question. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," she replied. She'd only planned on making some small talk, but something was bothering her.

"Where have you and Felix been?"

Piers paused, taken aback. He hadn't expected this sort of question in a laid-back conversation. It wasn't like the reason was a bad one... It was just that he didn't particularly like the reason why he had been gone so long. So, it _was _a bad reason.

He bit his lip. "Would you like the full story?"

Truth be told, he was pretty tired, so he didn't want to do all the storytelling himself. Maybe Felix would help out. And maybe he would lighten up a bit - it wasn't like Mia's joining them was the end of the world, though he often treated it like so.

Mia nodded. "Yes, please."

He sighed. She sure was the ever-so-curious one of them all. "Come with me, then, please."

He stood up and waited for her to do the same, and then began the ascent up the small stairway to the deck. He turned around to face her. "Please stay here for just a moment, Lady Mia."

She nodded, though unsure of what he was about to do. She realized he was going to talk to Felix as he walked away from her and up towards the tiller, engaging the brunet in a conversation. Their gruff voices filled her ears, though she couldn't exactly hear what they were saying.

Mia frowned to herself. Was it really that big of a deal that Piers had to get somebody else to tell the story?

Just then, Piers turned back around towards her and gestured for her to come to them. She obeyed.

"Lady Mia," Piers began, "I am actually quite tired, so if you wouldn't mind, please let Felix tell you the story if you still wish to hear it." She just stared at him with a blank expression. He smiled a bit. "After all, he _is _the one I spent those seven years with, so he is quite knowledgeable when it comes to the story, if not more than I am."

She nodded. "Thank you." Then she turned to Felix as Piers began walking away. "Are you truly comfortable with telling me?"

He grunted in response as he turned the tiller to the left. "If you really wanna hear it."

"I do." She just wanted to know what the two had been up to during all that time. It's not like they had been sailing all that time, right? Wouldn't that get boring?

"We were exploring Weyard in the ship." He grunted once more as a raindrop fell on his head. Mia giggled. "Anyway, do you remember the stories about Lemuria that we told you?" He was referring to all other six Adepts on their adventure, but mainly Sheba, Jenna, Piers, and himself.

"Yes." She moved up so that she could hear him a little better. She leaned over the ship and watched the calm waves lick the side.

"King Hydros wanted to know whether or not a certain map of Weyard was correct, so we were commanded to set out and check. But Conservato had to open his big mouth and tell us that once Piers left Lemuria - and since he had already brought us outsiders to the city limits - he would be exiled from it."

Mia was confused. So why were they agreeing to it? She tilted her body so she could see Felix. "You will still take me to Lemuria, right?"

Felix sighed. Dull girl. "Of course. May I finish?"

She stayed in silence and turned back to the water and after a few moments he continued.

"We found out that the continents are actually smaller than what was seen on the map. But that was a long time ago - before we set out on this quest." Another raindrop fell on his head, and he knew he'd have to hurry this up. "This time, we set out ourselves to try and find the cause." He paused. "Of course, it was hypothesized that the loss of Alchemy in the world was to blame, but seven whole years have passed since the Sun rose and it came back to the planet and nothing has changed at all."

Mia was confused. So what did that mean?

"We're not sure why the continents have been shrinking," he continued, "so we took on our own mission and swore to ourselves we would find that answer, or at least try." Another raindrop, and another grunt. "Look, let's go below decks and talk this through. I'm gonna get drenched if I stay out here."

"But you shouldn't leave the tiller unoccupied - "

"It'll be fine as long as we're in open water," he explained. He turned around and saw her worried expression and smiled a bit. "Don't worry. I've been sailing this ship for seven years, longer if you count the time Piers, Jenna, Sheba and I were traveling by ourselves." _With Kraden, _he told himself regretfully.

Mia nodded, smiling as well. But then another question plagued her.

"Felix?"

"Yes?"

She thought about how to word it. "So, if Piers is still exiled...how are we getting into Lemuria?"

"Well, naturally, we'll sail there," he retorted smartly.

She frowned. "You know what I mean."

He sighed. "We'll figure something out. We've been meaning to go to Lemuria for a while now, and you just give us more reason to."

"But if he is exiled, why have you been planning a visit?"

"We need something from there," he replied, almost cutting her off. He took his hands off the tiller, turned around, and walked past her and down the stairs.

She guessed their conversation was over.

* * *

A/N: Ugh. Really short chapter today, guys. I'm sorry, especially since I'm three days late... I just -heh- sorta forgot about this for a few days when I was catching up on my animes and stuff. Xenoblade's been trying to call out to me as well, so I might be busy with that for a bit, as well as Tales of the Abyss.

But you can cheer up! Beeeecause I'll still have the new update by Sunday hopefully. But if it's not up by Sunday, it'll most definitely be up before next Wednesday. Once again, sorry for the delay, and sorry for the really short crappy chapter. But thanks for all the reviews! I love them :)

**[edit 9/29: Did some very minor edits, made some parts less choppy/wordy. Changed some dialog. Nothing major at all. Chapter 4 coming in a few hours :) Thanks for putting up with me, guys!]**

_~CGA_


	4. Chapter 4

**Colder Weather**

**Chapter Four**

Mia was worried about the ship. If nobody was operating the tiller, how would they know where they were going? Of course, Felix told her not to worry, but they were in the middle of _nowhere _as far as she could tell, and she feared that they would get lost at sea.

But she tried not to let that bother her as she stood just below decks, staring out at the gray sky from the bottom of the stairs. The clear raindrops calmed her down ever-so-slightly and she sighed, closing her eyes.

Then Felix cleared his throat behind her and she turned around abruptly, forgetting they even had a conversation. The water seemed to do that to her - make her forget whatever she was doing. It was understandable considering the way he cut off her last sentence, though; she thought they were done talking.

"Follow me," he said, turning around and walking away from her. She obeyed, and soon she found herself in the doorway of what she presumed to be his room. There were clothes, namely jackets, spread all over the floor and she had to be careful not to step on any, though when she looked over at the Venus Adept he was clearly standing on one as he rummaged through his drawers for something.

Mia cleared her throat but still spoke in a soft voice. "Would it not be best to..tidy up?" She stepped to a safe spot where there was at least a foot of space in between each jacket.

Felix just grunted in response. "I never have the time. It's always eat, sleep, sail, and the occasional dock-and-steal."

_'Dock-and-steal?' _

He found what he was looking for, though, and pulled it out. It was a rain poncho, light green in color, and it seemed like it had seen its share of wear throughout the years. He ignored that, though, and began untying the scarf around his neck.

She stood in shock. "W-what are you doing?"

Felix didn't falter with his words. "Changing. I've been in these clothes for a few days." It was the most obvious thing in the world, of course. He let the scarf fall to the floor before he picked it up and tossed it onto his bed. Next he began unbuttoning his overcoat. "Besides, it's not necessarily a good thing if the overcoat gets wet."

His overcoat was discarded in the same fashion as his scarf, and when he lifted his shirt up over his head, Mia blushed and looked away.

"Why did you call me down here?" she asked, attempting to look everywhere in the room but at him.

"I was under the impression you wanted to hear the story of my and Piers' absence." Again, he didn't falter or stutter.

"Well, yes, but - "

"Would you like a poncho as well?" he offered. She could hear more opening of drawers.

Mia turned towards him to respond and instantly regretted it, turning back once more. "Are you planning on going up to the deck again?"

"Yes. Surely you don't find me _that _irresponsible, right?" He was referring to leaving the tiller unattended for a long period of time. "Ah! Found it."

She turned her head and - thankfully - the new poncho he was holding up hid his bare chest from her view. But then he turned towards her, tossing the article to her. She blushed again and almost didn't catch it. He didn't notice, too busy donning his own.

Mia stared down at the clothing awkwardly. Truth be told, she'd never worn one of these things before. The rain had never bothered her. But then again, she was never allowed to be out in the rain for too long of a time when she was a child... It never rained in Imil, anyway.

"Uh..."

"What's the matter? Aren't you going to put it on?" he asked.

She rubbed the back of her neck. "I, um.. I have never actually been bothered by rain that much."

Felix sighed, gaining some of his annoyance back. "Is that your only set of clothes?"

"Well, I have an extra coat I brought - "

"You need to put it on," he told her. "You don't want anything to happen to your coat. It could shrink, or never dry out. Always keep the bad things in mind."

_Always keep the bad things in mind. _She had heard that somewhere before.

"So put that on, and then you can meet me at the tiller again." He walked away and Mia could hear his feet colliding with the stairs just those few yards away.

She did as she was told, though, and began to unbutton her large coat. It fell to the floor and she was left in her light blue slip, hugging her curves tightly. She figured out how to work the poncho and quickly slipped it on. She picked up her coat now and walked to her own room to set it on the bed before making her way up to the dock as well.

As expected, the Venus Adept was already at the tiller, steering away.

She couldn't get something off her mind, though. She moved up closer to the brunet. "Are we going to Lemuria first?"

Felix obviously tensed up and she could tell. "I want to go to Jenna first."

Mia was shocked at first. At least he admitted it. She decided to bring up an old topic, to get the point through to his skull. "Felix, if her pain isn't physical, I cannot heal her."

"I know that," came his reply. _But we have to at least try._

She sighed and resumed her earlier position at the side of the ship, leaning over and staring out at sea. "I believe we should go to Lemuria first." She looked over to the brunet and before he could speak again he silenced him. "Won't you please hear me out?"

When she didn't get a response she continued. "It isn't only for Imil's needs. Hermes Water contains Mercury itself. It has healing properties I could never hope to accomplish." She paused. "Nothing I would be able to accomplish, anyway," she said quietly.

The atmosphere was silent for a while, save for the small white caps in the distance and the small waves colliding with the wood of the ship. Mia hoped he was thinking of what to say.

"I suppose we can try it out," he said at last. Mia smiled.

* * *

Later that night, when Piers was awake, Felix announced that their supplies were depleting quickly, more so because of the new addition. They had to stock up soon if they wanted any chance of surviving another storm that was sure to come soon enough.

Mia asked what this meant, and when Felix's explaining was too harsh, Piers took over.

"Lady Mia," he began, "I assure you we do not harm any of the citizens." He took her hands away from her face so he could stare into her eyes, which were red and wet from crying.

"Piers... Please do not do this," she pleaded. She closed her eyes and let a few more tears fall down her face. "You can't do this...to innocent citizens. What if they need what we take?"

Piers sighed but smiled nonetheless. "We do not take anything that we believe to be needed by them. And we make sure to only bother the wealthy and upper middle-class, never the poor."

It took more convincing, but eventually Mia complied - mostly because she hadn't a coin to her name on this ship, leaving all her emergency money back home in case another endemic came around.

So she resorted to sitting on a box on the deck, doing her favorite thing, staring out to sea. The moon shined just enough to reflect off the water, and she found herself quickly calmed.

Sure, it was great being with her natural element all the time - but it was in snow form, never actual water. Since Imil's population had grown, all the commotion and heat given off had caused some of the ice and snow to melt, but it wasn't enough to keep it from freezing over once more. Weather was funny like that. The Hermes Water was never in large enough supply that she could ever hope to play with it. Rain was ever-so-rare up north.

This was heaven to her. Staring out at the calm sea, being able to feel its course - it was all so calming. It made her forget the potential trouble that Felix and Piers were getting into in the nearby city.

Where were they truly going, though? Did Felix finally swallow his pride and decide to head straight for Lemuria? She knew that in order to even make it to Imil, one would have to sail all the way around the hundreds of miles of natural rock formations in the ocean. They were probably still making their way around that, then. But what would come after they get around it?

It wasn't like she didn't want to help Jenna get through whatever she was going through. It just seemed...odd, for some reason, that Felix only now decided to seek her out for help. Piers was a healer, as well... Surely he could have asked his Lemurian friend to heal his sister. And why would he only now realize that his sister was hurt?

There were a lot of holes in his story thus far. Mia couldn't be entirely sure about just what Felix wanted from her. It was confusing. She wished she could just know the truth.

Where were they right now? Surely they couldn't be near too much civilization. The island they docked at wasn't very large at all; she could see maybe five houses in her immediate vision. She hoped her friends didn't make a commotion in the small town.

* * *

Felix hopped down from the ship first. He scoped out the area, thankful it was nighttime, and motioned for the Lemurian to follow him down. The two set out for the local shop first.

It was just a plain wooden building, nothing special at all. The traditional three dots were painted on the front of the building's sign, letting customers know it was the general shop for everything.

The brunet opened the door carefully at first, checked inside to see if anybody was still awake in there. The coast was clear, so Piers followed him inside.

It was dark. The two left the door open as to let the light from outside in so they could see. Felix walked up to the cash register while the Mercury Adept stood in place.

"Felix, do you really think we should take money from this town?" He remembered the rundown look of the town. "It doesn't seem too awfully wealthy."

Felix shrugged him off. "It's just a little bit. They'll be fine." He proceeded to count and take exactly one thousand coins from the register and stuffed them into the mythril bag he brought. "Keep watch," he said, walking away from the register and over to the stash of weapons and other items.

Piers sighed. He guessed some things would never change; after all, when you spend three years in Prox, your entire lifestyle changes. Nevertheless, he went over to the door and stared out. He couldn't sense any presences near them, and he didn't think there would be anything for a while yet, so he stared idly out at the ship, wondering how Mia was taking this all now. He hoped she wasn't still upset.

It wasn't like they didn't need to do this... Although, if Felix was just taking money, anyway, surely they could have traveled to another island not too far from where they were right now and spent it on supplies instead of taking them. He understood Felix's reasoning, though: _what if there aren't any other islands until we get to where we're going?_

Some clanging noises behind him told him that his friend was having some trouble. He looked away from his post but was instantly scolded by the Venus Adept.

"Keep watch," Felix repeated, trying to fix the mess of fallen weapons he created. He didn't worry about putting them back, he just worried about getting what had made them fall - the herbs and other medicines he wanted.

Piers relaxed a little and resumed his guard duty. He still couldn't see or hear anybody coming, but if the brunet kept up what he was doing, someone somewhere in the small town would hear them and figure out what was going on.

Felix stuffed what he could into his pockets - he didn't worry about weapons considering they had just stocked up before Mia came along - and then went over to the clothing section. Not really caring about sizes, he picked out what looked like the best and safest equipment they could wear. He chose another robe for Mia, a long and durable-looking cloak for himself, and a large overcoat for Piers. He picked some extra stuff just to have it, just in case.

"I believe we have company, Felix," Piers announced quietly, moving out of the light of the door.

Felix jolted alert and turned around immediately, cursing his friend. "I told you to keep watch!" he whispered hastily. But then he sighed. He was much too drained from the day - he hadn't slept since early that morning - and didn't want to have to fight anybody or anything.

"Look, let's just get out of here, all right?" he offered. Piers nodded, happily relishing in the fact that there would be no bloodshed for them tonight. He absolutely despised harming innocent people, and he was glad he had only had to do so a handful of times during his entire adventure with Felix.

The Lemurian headed out the door first and almost regretted it. A man was standing directly outside of the shop, looking half-awake. Piers stood still for a while, Felix behind him. Then all of a sudden everything clicked for the man, seeing Felix carry the clothes with pockets filled to the brims, and he snapped to attention.

"Thieves!" he shouted. The two Adepts looked at each other and made a beeline for the ship, the man in tow. After a few moments the sounds of doors slamming could be heard and they didn't have to look behind them to know that more people were awake now and chasing after them. Felix hopped on first, being careful not to drop anything, and Piers followed after, making sure to raise the ramp so that nobody could follow them.

Mia stood up from her stand immediately, questioning the two. Piers rushed over to the tiller and placed the Black Orb in its rightful spot, starting up the ship. Felix was below the deck tossing the newly acquired items into one of the rooms.

"You two need to make this go faster," he told them once he emerged from the stairway. He went over to Piers and took over the tiller.

"Felix?" Mia asked, still very confused.

"Lady Mia, we will explain later," Piers provided. "Right now, you and I must manipulate the water so we may get going faster." With that, he hurried to the left side of the ship and started concentrating his energy so that maybe the water would cooperate with him.

The confused Mia followed suit and went to the right side, concentrating her own energy.

* * *

In the morning, Mia woke up with pain in both her arms. Manipulating all the water to make a fast getaway last night weighed heavily on her muscles. One would think that concentrating Psynergy to heal somebody would take much more out of a healer, but it was all about tolerance. Mia healed people on a daily basis. She had grown a tolerance for it. But she hadn't used action Psynergy in years - easily the one year that had passed since she had left Imil. Her body had lost its tolerance for that kind of energy.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and emerged from her bed, donning her robe. She could tell it was starting to get colder already. She combed through her long blue hair with her fingers and gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror before walking out the door and greeting the morning.

When she got to the deck, she saw Piers already at the tiller, but she could also start to see the icecaps surrounding them. So they weren't yet out of the rocky area.

Piers heard her footsteps and turned around, greeting the angel with a smile. "Good morning, Lady Mia."

She yawned and made her way over to her friend. Then she shivered. "Yes. What a delightful morning." Truth be told, she loved the cold. It was all she had ever known. While trekking through the Lamakan and Suhalla Deserts with Isaac was fun and a nice change of climate, Imil and its chilliness was where she belonged.

He noticed her shivering. "Would you like me to fetch you another robe?"

"I'm fine, thank you." She smiled. Then she remembered last night. She actually didn't remember falling asleep. Maybe she had fallen asleep while working with the water.

_Wait, last night..._

"Piers, what truly happened last night?" she pondered to him. Was it something bad? Obviously it was if they had to make such a speedy getaway as last night's.

He turned back around to watch where he was steering. "Truly... We were almost caught. Security may be tight in large cities like Tolbi and Kalay, but regardless of what many people may thing, it is much tighter in small towns and villages."

That made sense, she supposed. Otherwise, Imil wouldn't have had as many guards as it did. But then again, she wasn't too sure where Imil lay in terms of city size.

Piers continued. "I was careless in my duty as a guard. If I had done my job correctly, we would not have had to hurt ourselves last night trying to escape."

Mia frowned. "Piers, don't blame yourself. You had just woken up when you and Felix went out."

He smiled a bit, though she couldn't see. "You're right. This is no time to wallow in self-pity. Thank you, Lady Mia." He paused, expecting her to reply. When she didn't, he continued. "Anyway, the thing for which I am most grateful is that we did not have to spar any non-Adepts like any of the last times."

Mia's frown deepened. Any of the last times? They had to fight non-Adepts before? Surely they won, but to a healer, harming anybody was a horrible thought...

But another thought plagued her mind. "Stealing is all Felix has ever known, isn't it?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," Piers answered without hesitation. It would make sense, after all. He'd lived in Prox for three years without knowing the difference between right and wrong - or if he did, he was taught not to care. He was raised by monsters, practically (that's what Mia referred to Proxians as, anyway). Though they may have been right in the end, it did nothing to compare to the bad that they had done to accomplish it.

But that was hypocritical of her. After all, she and Isaac's group - and when they teamed up with Felix's - had brought bloodshed to many throughout the years, and though it was painful, it was necessary to do what needed to be done in the end.

"I'm worried about him," she admitted.

Piers admitted it too. "As am I."

* * *

_A/N: I'm not dead! I promise! I won't make any lame excuses no one cares about, either. Just accept my apology, please. I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRY!_

_A lot of my reviewers have said that many of the Mia/Felix stories never get finished, but lemme save my butt here and say THIS WILL BE FINISHED. Maybe not before the end of the year (though I hope I can kick myself enough to get it done before then), but it WILL be finished. I haven't nearly run out of ideas for this yet, mainly because it's not really plot-driven at all, hah what plot? Anyway. Yeah. This story isn't going to die anytime soon, guys, don't worry. I just hope none of my reviewers have died waiting for me to update _

_Once again, I'M SORRY. This chapter probably isn't up to your expectations. It wasn't up to mine, either, but meh. It is what it is. I wrote the majority of it just an hour ago. I didn't proofread it as much as I'm used to, so if you find any mistakes, don't be afraid to point them out, I'll fix them as soon as I can/want to. _

_I'll try to work on NDMR as well. I have a few paragraphs of the next chapter written (and you guys don't want to see my Document manager right now, seriously. It's so cluttered. That's where I do all my writing, though, not in word or any of that crap), and I have enough garbled ideas there to keep the chapter going. So maybe you'll see that being updated sometime soon._

_My GOAL for this story is to have at least one update each month. That way, I should finish...well, no, that's a horrible idea. That way I wouldn't finish until this time next year or later, lol. I'll try to have TWO updates each month. But no promises, really. Next month is going to be pretty hectic, and then from December on it's going to be horrible because I'll be taking AP history, an English class, math, AND be getting ready for college crap. Not fun. :l But I'm not here to rant about my life, because you guys don't care anyway...!_

_So yeah. I hope to update this again VERY soon. Like, within the next month soon. I hope you guys haven't forgotten about this story .-. I still love it to pieces._

__~CGA


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